


The Book Signing

by BelleofHell



Category: Rune Factory (Video Games), Rune Factory 4
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Reunions, my fav hc is that kiel eventually writes books
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-01
Updated: 2019-02-01
Packaged: 2019-10-20 04:18:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17615321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BelleofHell/pseuds/BelleofHell
Summary: This was made for the 2018 Secret Santa on tumblr.Kiel's one of the hottest new authors in Norad. It's been a while, but he finally gets to go home.





	The Book Signing

The poster was fresh off the press. Towards the top was a picture of Kiel’s face, smile wide and welcoming. Below the photo, large, black words jumped off the page, daring those nearby _not_ to read them.

**Book Signing with Kiel! Winter 3-4 at 11 a.m. in Bell Hotel Lobby**

Leon stared at it, dumbfounded. “I hope he doesn’t expect us to get a book signed by him.” 

Forte rolled her eyes. “You’ll go get a book signed by him and you know it.” She continued to stare at the picture of her brother. He looked older than he had a year ago, since they last saw him in person. Leon pouted. He didn’t like her reaction much. Was he losing his talent in flustering people or was Forte starting to grow immune? No, impossible. Forte could never. He just needed to push a little harder. 

Leon got her attention back on him by shrugging. “I’m sure I can find something in my possession that Kiel wrote his name on. He was a nosy little gremlin when he was younger.” Leon didn’t bother to hide his smirk when Forte turned to him with her eyebrows furrowed. 

“Lin Fa told me after Kiel’s last book came out you stayed up all night reading it,” Forte stated slowly, unsure of what Leon would do next. 

Leon decided to shrug again. If there was one thing Forte disliked, it was indifference. “I’m sure he’s still a nosy little gremlin. “I’ll invite him over some other time and he’ll be more than happy to write his name on something. I don’t need to go to the book signing.” 

An angry red spread over Forte’s cheeks and her eyes narrowed. Leon grinned. This was his favorite part of teasing people. He loved the moment he fooled someone into believing his words only to pull the rug from under them a moment later. 

“You have to be at Kiel’s book signing!” she insisted, fists clenched. “Even if you don’t get anything signed by him you should still be his emotional support. He looks up to you!” 

“Okay,” Leon simply stated and watched as the color left Forte’s cheeks and her eyes rounded out again. 

There was a brief pause before Forte asked, “What?” 

“Okay,” Leon repeated. “I’ll go. You convinced me.” 

The color that had just left Forte’s cheeks returned as she figured out she had been tricked. This time the crimson took over her entire face. 

Without saying goodbye, Leon turned around and walked away before Forte could start yelling at him again. Although, that part was fun too. She was always too flustered to form her words correctly and it made her even more flustered. It was a vicious cycle that was live entertainment for Leon. 

Today, however, he had better things to prepare for. 

-

“So, are you going to the book signing?” Leon watched as the long-haired man across from him sighed and put down his drink. It was rush hour at Porcoline’s restaurant, so most tables were full and the noise was on a level that had Dylas’s eye twitching as he went from table to table. That was a different long-haired man, however, than the one that currently looked too tired to put up with Leon that day. 

“Why are you sitting here?” Barrett asked. His lunch was only partly eaten and he hadn’t taken a bite since Leon sat down. Maybe it was his way of telling Leon to leave. Besides the obvious displeased tone of voice, of course. 

“I’m sitting here because I wanted to ask you a question,” Leon answered. “Which you’re not getting out of, by the way. You’re not as clever as a fox like me.” Barrett sat still, not reacting to Leon’s behavior. 

_Fine then,_ Leon thought. _He’s not that fun to tease anyway._

“I figured since Kiel interviewed you for the book that you’d be willing to go to the signing,” Leon said, finally getting to his point. 

Barrett sighed and Leon could see him relax, if only slightly. Most people had that reaction when they realized Leon wouldn’t be targeting them at the moment. “Yes, I’ll be going,” he admitted. “My son really wants a signed copy since I’m in it.” 

“And quite a lot, if I remember correctly,” Leon smirked as Barrett grimaced. As much as Barrett hated the attention of the public, it was true. Kiel’s book was a biography of the events that transpired in Alvarna less than a decade ago. It was an inspiring read that Leon will never admit made him cry. 

A few years ago, Kiel came to Leon with an idea. He wanted to write a biography about Ventuswill and Frey and their adventures and struggles. He wanted to study Earthmates and conduct interviews and actually do something with his passion for books that could potentially help people. 

Leon was surprised at first. Just the day before Kiel had seemed content living life as he always had: reading and gossiping and cooking for his sister. However, Leon could tell from the look in his eyes that this was something Kiel really wanted. Maybe even needed. Leon still had some doubts. Kiel often unintentionally spread false rumors and Leon didn’t want his book to turn out the same way. 

That’s why Leon kept a close eye on Kiel’s progress. He read through many rough drafts and even sat through several interviews. Of course, he himself had been interviewed. When the book was completed, it was strange to see his own words on paper, quotes that Kiel had deemed worthy of being immortalized. 

And best of all, Leon’s fears were unfounded. Kiel didn’t stretch any truths. He stated facts and added flowery language where he could. Despite the fact that Leon had been there for the whole experience, he read the finished product like it was a new fiction novel. 

The success of Kiel’s first book made him happier than Leon had ever seen him, and he was already a ball of sunshine. 

One evening, Kiel confided in him that his happiness largely came from finally being able to help Forte financially. She made a good income from her career as a knight, but Kiel hated when she worried, even if it was over little things. Plus, it made him feel like an actual adult. 

A few months later Kiel announced his next project: a biography about the events surrounding Fiersome in Alvarna. The topic came up when he was interviewing Barrett for his first book and he immediately knew he had to look into it as well. He packed his bags and left for Alvarna to research and interview and write. 

It was just as good as the first one, in Leon’s opinion. Though he may be biased considering he knew how torturous those hours of being questioned by Kiel must have been for Barrett. 

Leon wished he had been there. Why wasn’t he there? He should have gone with Kiel. It wasn’t like he had anything better to do anyway. 

Well, at least he got to watch Barrett squirm now. 

“Yes, I’m in it a lot,” Barrett broke Leon out of his thoughts. It almost sounded like he was gritting his teeth. “Is there another point you’re trying to make?” 

Leon shrugged. “Nah. I’ll see you there.” He then stood and left his seat. At least he got the final word in, and hey, Barrett even almost looked baffled at his sudden departure. He was so busy imprinting Barrett’s face to memory that he didn’t even see the figure walking through the door. 

“Oof!” A familiar voice huffed as a body ran straight into Leon, their head hitting his chin. The person quickly pushed away, muttering apologies as Leon rubbed his chin. Then he heard a gasp. “Leon!” 

Leon’s head jerked up and the pain was forgotten. In front of him stood Kiel. His eyes were as big and innocent as usual, but his hair had grown significantly. There were pins crammed all over his head attempting to hold his hair back. Someone needed to teach this kid about hair gel. 

Later, though. For now, Leon wanted to reminisce. “Kid!” he exclaimed, throwing his arm around the shorter boy’s shoulder and rubbing his hair. “I didn’t think you’d be back so soon.” 

Kiel giggled as his hair was messed with, then shot Leon a blinding smile. “Yeah, well, I was homesick, so I came early.” 

Leon chuckled. Kiel couldn’t even pretend to be embarrassed that he missed everyone. That was one of the most refreshing parts of Kiel’s personality. He was so unapologetically himself. 

“What about your previous book signing? You’re on a big tour, aren’t you?” 

_Now_ Kiel looked bashful. “Uh, yeah, but I’d actually scheduled to be there for a few extra days for sightseeing. I decided I’d rather come home. It’s my birthday soon, after all.” 

The smile on Leon’s face grew from teasing to soft. Damn, this kid had to be the most sincere human in Norad. 

“Well, I’m glad you’re back,” Leon admitted. _Because Selphia’s final puzzle piece has been put back into place,_ he thought. 

Then they went back to Kiel and Forte’s house. Leon would sit in the corner as the two siblings caught up, pretending to be only half-listening. He’d give it away by interrupting Forte’s stories with his own about the time she fell down the stairs in the inn or tried to use her sword to cut her bread. She’d turn red and Kiel would crack up. Eventually Bado would come over for dinner and they’d all chat for several more hours (Bado didn’t actually want to hear about the blacksmith in Alvarna, but Forte made Kiel recount everything he knew about her so Bado could “learn something”). Then Kiel would fall asleep in his chair and Forte would quietly usher Leon and Bado out of the house before they could terrorize him somehow. Leon would lay in his bed and close his eyes and smile because everything would be as it should.

**Author's Note:**

> Writing Leon is... weird lol. I need more practice with him.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
